Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s international schools face financial uncertainty as nervous parents mull pulling children
- Effect of withdrawals may not be felt until July or August, consultant says
- Financial losses to international schools would not really be known until 2021
Many of Hong Kong’s international schools might be facing financial uncertainty, as tentative start dates for the new term have been pushed back to April 20. These schools account for 5 per cent of the city’s kindergarten, primary and secondary pupils.
Amid global efforts to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, there is also no guarantee that these dates will not be pushed back further. And the fear is that the continued closure of schools, or even the tough economic times Hong Kong is facing, might prompt expat parents to return their children for schooling to their own countries, straining school resources.
“Anecdotal evidence suggests a little more intent to leave than usual, but re-enrolments are not yet due. The effect of withdrawals may not be felt until July or August. That said, there’s no shortage of demand from non-international families, and I’m sure we’ll see some flexibility in admission requirements,” said Ruth Benny, founder of Top Schools, a private schools consultancy in Hong Kong. She said the re-enrolment process will start around Easter.
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Some international students are being moved by nervous expat parents to attend schools in their home countries so that they can simply be in classes with other students again, Anne Murphy, director of ITS Educational Services, said.
“Our company has received a significant number of enquiries from new clients who are considering repatriating back to their home countries, and others who want consultancy services about admissions to schools in Thailand and Singapore. Before the virus, we also witnessed parents from mainland China withdrawing their children [from schools in Hong Kong] and enrolling them in schools in Shanghai and Beijing,” Murphy said.
“What we don’t know yet is how many families will actually return for the remainder of the academic year. Schools probably don’t have the exact numbers either,” she said, adding that financial losses to international schools would not really be known until 2021.
There is no evidence yet of an exodus from Hong Kong. The number of residents arriving through its airport in February was substantially higher than the number departing, according to data from the Hong Kong Immigration Department. “There are many more parents sticking it out in Hong Kong, who believe it will recover. It’s not easy just to up and leave when you are working full time, or own a business,” Murphy said.
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Bloomberg reported last month that the British and French chambers of commerce had written to Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Hong Kong’s leader, highlighting the potential danger of a loss in enrolments at many international schools in Hong Kong, with some suggesting that some private schools would have to close permanently. A spokesperson for the English Schools Foundation said that it did not participate in the letter, but was aware of it.
Hong Kong was home to 161 private schools, as of the 2018-2019 school year, according to data provided by the Education Bureau, which lists 53 international schools in the city. Of the estimated 900,000 Hong Kong pupils, ranging from kindergarten to secondary schools, around 40,000 were in international schools.
The most current data shows that international schools are still overwhelmingly dependent on international students from overseas, even though the percentage of local students – those bearing a Hong Kong passport – is steadily rising. In the 2016-17 school year, 18.9 per cent of secondary students at international schools were locals, rising to 22.8 per cent in the latest school year. Among primary students at international schools, 21.6 per cent were local students in 2016-2017, rising to 25.8 per cent in 2018-2019.
In the 2018-19 school year, just 4.9 per cent of international students in Hong Kong were from mainland China, in both primary and secondary schools, according to Education Bureau data.
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Fees have also risen steadily over the past few years. A January report by the Hong Kong Ombudsman’s office revealed that for the 2018-2019 school year, 81 per cent of the 166 private schools (including international schools) had applied to the Education Bureau to raise school fees by as much as 10 per cent, and 96 per cent of those that applied were approved.
The median primary school fees in 2018-19 stood at HK$115,800 (US$14,905), while the median for secondary schools was HK$153,800, according to the latest figures from the Education Bureau.
International schools also charge capital levies or debentures, with no standard system in place, said Benny, founder of consultancy Top Schools. She said fee increases for private schools were subject to approval by the Education Bureau, but increases in debentures and capital levies were not.
“They’re supposed to hold these monies and invest for use on capital expenses. In reality, no monitoring,” she added.
